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Period Drama Manhattan Canned After Two Seasons

WGN America has formally confirmed plans to pull the plug on historical drama Manhattan, ending its run on the airwaves after only two seasons.

Despite debuting to relatively positive reviews, the wartime series struggled to maintain a strong enough audience, and WGN has elected not to order a third season. Matt Cherniss, President and General Manager at the network, said in a statement that the cancellation was a difficult decision to make.

“After careful consideration, we have reached the very difficult decision not to move forward with a third season of Manhattan. We are proud of this critically acclaimed series, an extraordinary original drama, and are deeply disappointed that such a wonderful show could not find a larger audience. We thank the immensely talented Sam Shaw and Thomas Schlamme, along with the exceptional cast and crew and our great partners at Lionsgate and Skydance, for crafting a masterful series. We are equally grateful to the dedicated fans for their support over the last two seasons.”

Alas, Series Creator Sam Shaw won’t have the opportunity to flesh out his story revolving around the Manhattan Project. That’s despite mapping out plans for a third season and beyond for WGNA’s original scripted drama, though in light of today’s confirmation fans will have to make do with having the story capped a little earlier than scheduled.

Originally starring John Benjamin Hickey, Olivia Williams, Ashley Zukerman and Rachel Brosnahan, Manhattan first aired in the summer of 2014, before a gradual decline in viewership meant that the season 2 finale that broadcast in December of 2015 will go down as the show’s final bow.